Police and community briefs for June 21, 2013

Published: Thursday, June 20, 2013 at 10:30 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, June 20, 2013 at 6:54 p.m.

A 36-year-old Ocala man was arrested Thursday and charged with sexual battery of a teenager.

On Wednesday, deputies had received a report that Jonathan Denver Mills had inappropriately touched a 14-year-old girl on June 8.

The teen told officials that Mills had touched her and also said they had had sex on multiple occasions.

Detective Ollue Myers interviewed Mills, who admitted touching the juvenile but denied having sex with her.

Mills was arrested and taken to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with six counts of sexual battery.

Scam costs Citra woman $12,400 in cash

Sheriff’s deputies are investigating a scam involving an 83-year-old Citra woman bilked out of $12,400 in cash.

The woman told Deputy Robert Morin that in mid-April she received a letter from Direct Transient Centers informing her they were holding a Mercedes Benz in her name and that after she paid a small fee the car would be shipped to her residence.

Around the same time, she said, she began receiving numerous phone calls from a man saying she had won a sweepstakes consisting of the car and $60,000 in cash. He said to not tell anyone for fear family members, friends or strangers might try to rob her.

Between April and mid-June, the woman was told that in order to receive her car and a new balance of $2 million in cash, she had to pay taxes. She was instructed to purchase pre-paid cards and transfer the money.

Officials said she withdrew $12,400 and sent to the company. She has not received any cash or the car.

Detectives are investigating.

Woman left infant in hot car, police report

Ocala police said a 19-year-old woman babysitting a 22-month-old child left the toddler unattended in a hot car Tuesday evening. Ciarra Hagadone was charged with child neglect and was taken to the Marion County Jail.

Officials were searching for two juvenile runaways when the Marion County Sheriff’s Office Air Unit spotted two people who matched their description in woods west of the College Square Apartments on Southwest 31st Avenue. The juveniles fled and Sgt. Erica Hay and Officer Jeffrey Hall chased them to a car.

As the officials approached the car, which was turned off and had the windows rolled up, they saw a baby girl strapped in a car seat on the rear passenger side, flushed and sweating profusely.

Officers identified the car owner as Hagadone, who was found nearby. She said the car air conditioner does not work and that leaving the child behind was “stupid” and she “wasn’t thinking.”

The child’s mother was notified and picked up her daughter.

Hagadone was booked at the jail early Thursday and was released within hours on $5,000 bond.

Local charges against Miss. fugitive dropped

Local charges against an escapee from Mississippi have been dropped, paving the way for him to return to that state.

Last month, Gary Sneed and his girlfriend Holly Morrison were arrested by Florida Highway Patrol troopers and a sheriff’s deputy after a trooper saw a disabled vehicle on Interstate 75 by mile marker 352 and stopped to assist. The trooper learned through checking a database that Sneed was wanted by Mississippi officials for escaping from a work camp. Local officials also were told that Morrison had stolen a vehicle and aided in his escape.

Sneed was arrested on a fugitive warrant for one count each of escape, manufacturing methamphetamines and violation of probation. He was also charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle and giving a false name to a law enforcement officer.

In court appearances Thursday before Judge Jim McCune via video link from Marion County Jail, Sneed was told that the local charges of giving a false name or identity to a law enforcement officer and grand theft of an automobile had been dismissed.

COMMUNITY

County auctioning off supplies from building

Marion County will hold an auction of supplies beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday at the “old county jail” building at 412 NW Ninth St., Ocala. The building is being converted for use as a storage facility for the Clerk of the Circuit Court.

Congressman Rich Nugent is hosting a veterans resource fair Saturday that also will be attended by Sen. Dorothy L. Hukill. The event is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the College of Central Florida, 3001 S.W. College Road, Ocala.

Veterans will be able to find information about claims, education, employment, housing, medical and social services, and more.

Car dealer helping with pet adoption initiative

Through the end of the month, DeLuca Toyota will cover the cost of a pet adoption from The Humane Society of Marion County with the purchase of a vehicle. In the event the customer does not adopt a pet, the dealership will donate $50 to the humane society.

The society will have adoptable dogs and cats at the dealership, at 1719 SW College Road, Ocala, at 11 a.m. Saturday and also June 29.

For more information, call 732-0770 or visit www.delucatoyota.com/dogdaysofsummer.

Small business seminar Saturday at CF Center

A Small Business Resource Network Ask the Expert Series event, Prepare for the Unexpected, will be offered from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the College of Central Florida Institute’s Hampton Center at 1501 W. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala.

The cost is $10. Reservations are requested. For more information, call 622-8763 or visit www.sbrn.org.

CF announces upcoming performing arts series

The College of Central Florida has released the schedule for its 2013-2014 performing arts series: